Cultivate'17 tour recap

On Saturday, July 15, two buses loaded with Cultivate’17 attendees headed north for the 2017 Nursery Learning Tour.

The first stop of the tour was Eagle Creek Wholesale in Mantua, Ohio, where owners Todd and Jill Stein showed the group around their 6-acre production greenhouse. Eagle Creek sells its plants to a diverse mix of garden centers, landscapers and farm markets, but its biggest customers are medium-sized grocery store chains in the Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Columbus markets.

The company employs 16-18 core staff members year-round, and increases to 30-34 at its spring peak. However, it has increased production by investing in automation, like a transplanter that only runs for six weeks out of the year but earns its keep by allowing a 6-person team to fill 400 flats an hour. Todd says without it, he’d need triple the labor to do the same amount of work.

Since 2006, Eagle Creek has used a biomass boiler to heat the greenhouse. This reduced the company’s heating bill from $250,000 to $130,000. After originally using both manure and sawdust as fuel, Eagle Creek uses exclusively sawdust bought from a local pallet producer as fuel for the boiler, and Todd ran through the process and challenges – which mainly involve keeping the boiler room clean.

“The only bad thing about sawdust is the mess,” he says.

The heat can go either to the plant’s roots or the greenhouse’s air, depending on what the crop needs, Jill says.

The tour group also visited the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center’s Wooster location. OARDC is the research arm of Ohio State University's College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. Attendees toured the trial greenhouses, where students were conducting drought tests that simulate real-world conditions of a typical consumer’s care: letting plants wilt, then watering, then wilt and water again and repeat, while checking to see if a bacterial strain improved the plants’ response.

The group also learned about efforts to develop plants that can produce rubber, potentially reducing the U.S.'s dependence on the largely imported material. Next, the bus tour group headed out into the field to see a demonstration of the Intelligent Sprayer. Dr. Heping Zhu spoke to the assembled crowd about the USDA-ARS research project. The smart sprayer uses a laser sensor to see breaks between plants and automatically turn on and off accordingly. This results in much less wasted pesticide. Dr. Zhu says it can reduce pesticide use by 40-70 percent. The group saw the prototype in action not only on a new tractor, but also retrofitted onto a 40-year old orchard sprayer.

After giving the attendees a chance to see the sprayer firsthand, USDA’s Matthew Wallhead demonstrated how nursery growers can use drones to scout for pests (top photo). The drones follow a preset flight plan to scan the nursery, taking extremely high-resolution photos. Those photos are then analyzed by software that searches for abnormalities that may be signs of an infestation. Wallhead said that some drones have been outfitted with the capability to dispense treatments, though OARDC has not yet had the opportunity to test that. Wallhead also answered many questions about the process to achieve authorization to fly a drone, its viability as a scouting strategy, and the technology’s other possibilities.

US increases H-2B visa cap by 15,000

The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that it will be increasing the number of H-2B visas by 15,000.

According to a statement from the DHS, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Labor Secretary Acosta found that there were not enough "qualified and willing" U.S. workers to fill businesses' needs.

“Congress gave me the discretionary authority to provide temporary relief to American businesses in danger of suffering irreparable harm due to a lack of available temporary workers,” Kelly said in a statement. “As a demonstration of the administration’s commitment to supporting American businesses, DHS is providing this one-time increase to the congressionally set annual cap.”

To qualify for the additional visas, petitioners must attest, under penalty of perjury, that their business is likely to suffer irreparable harm if it cannot employ H-2B nonimmigrant workers during fiscal year 2017.

The temporary visas had previously been capped at 66,000 for the fiscal year.

"Though we fear this gesture may be too little too late for thousands of small businesses that rely on legal, highly vetted seasonal guest workers to meet their peak season needs, the additional visas may help save some small businesses this year," said the H2B Workforce Coalition, which is co-chaired by NALP, in a statement. "From landscapers in Colorado to innkeepers in Maine to seafood processors along the gulf coast to carnivals nationwide, we hope the visa expansion will help some businesses avoid substantial financial loss, and in some cases, prevent early business closures during their peak season. We will carefully review the details of the rule and communicate best next steps to our members to ensure they have the information necessary to quickly get approved seasonal workers to the U.S. to support full-time, domestic staff to operate at full capacity.”

Moana Nursery announces changes in leadership, new president and CEO

Reno, Nev. – Moana Nursery has announced the promotion of Scott Gescheider (above, right) to president and CEO. In this new role, Gescheider will oversee the entire Moana Nursery organization, including nursery growing operations in Canby, Oregon, three retail garden centers in northern Nevada and landscape services operating in Nevada and California. Gescheider has been part of family-owned Moana Nursery since 2005. Moana Nursery is No. 27 on Garden Center magazine's 2016 Top 100 list.

Gescheider is Moana Nursery owners' Bruce and Christie Gescheider's son. Bruce has passed on the president/CEO title and responsibilities to Scott; however, Bruce will continue to work as an adviser and will continue to manage customer service. Bruce and Christie will also continue handling all of Moana Nursery's marketing until a new marketing person is added to the team.

Gescheider previously led the company’s landscape division for 12 years. He is excited to lead the company in making gardening and landscaping in the high desert achievable and enjoyable for the community.

“I am humbled to lead such an exceptional team of plant people at Moana Nursery,” Gescheider says. “Over the past 12 years that I have been part of Moana Nursery’s management team I have been constantly impressed with the dedication of our teammates to help our customers achieve their gardening and landscaping needs. I am truly looking forward to leading our efforts as a team to further enhance our customer experience and the landscape services that we offer.”

A former United States Naval Supply Officer and third generation Navy veteran, Gescheider was responsible for the logistics of fast attack submarines. He has a degree in Hotel Restaurant Management from Cornell University and credits his experience in the “Silent Service” to his belief that great teams with great teammates can accomplish the impossible.

He chose a new career path in 2005 and dedicated his life to photosynthesis, improving the world through horticulture and growing the family business. The housing collapse, followed by the Great Recession in northern Nevada derailed the plans for growth, provided a lifetime’s worth of lessons, and strangely, caused him to develop a vitriolic reaction to depreciating assets.

As a graduate of University of Nevada’s MBA program, member of the Renown Community Advisory Board, passionate youth soccer coach and former Chairman of the Northern Nevada Better Business Bureau, he is vested in the health of the local economy and community overall.

Moana Nursery Announces the Promotion of Matt Pulliam to General Manager of Retail Services

Moana Nursery has also announced the promotion of Matt Pulliam (above, left) to the position of general manager of retail services. In this position, Pulliam will oversee all retail services for the company, including its three retail garden centers in northern Nevada. A lifelong plant enthusiast, Pulliam has worked in the nursery and landscape industry for almost 30 years and has been part of the Moana Nursery organization since 2005.

“We are very excited to have Matt leading our retail services,” Scott Gescheider, president and CEO of Moana Nursery, says. “He has been an integral member of the Moana Nursery team for more than a decade. He has a deep knowledge of horticulture and a true love and enthusiasm for the nursery and landscape industry.”

Pulliam’s first role with Moana Nursery was in the contractor services department, and over the past 12 years, he has held various positions within the company including green goods manager, services coordinator and store manager. Prior to joining Moana Nursery, he was a project coordinator at Jerry Mitchell, Inc. for 10 years where he helped create and install custom residential landscapes. He also managed Springtime Gardens, a retail nursery located in Reno. In addition, he previously served as a farm manager for a wholesale grower of ornamental plants where he oversaw the production planning, propagation, maintenance, sales and shipping of plants for the northern California market.

Pulliam is a graduate of California State University, East Bay with a Bachelor of Arts in History. In his free time, Pulliam enjoys playing softball and is an avid runner. He also enjoys giving friendly landscaping advice to his neighbors and diagnosing tree aliments.

UF/IFAS announces new horticulture chair

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dean Kopsell comes to UF/IFAS from the University of Tennessee, where he has worked since 2004. He spent the last four years as professor of plant sciences. Before UT, he worked as an assistant professor of plant sciences at the University of New Hampshire.

Jack Payne, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, named Kopsell to the position following a national search.

“We had to choose from a number of high-quality applicants, but Dr. Kopsell stood out from the rest because of many factors,” said Payne. “He brings a broad vision and a wealth of knowledge about plant industry research, extension and education that can help UF/IFAS continue to build its relationships with Florida’s burgeoning ornamental industry.”

Kopsell starts at UF/IFAS Aug. 25. Before, Kopsell gained valuable administrative experience by working as the research coordinator for his academic department at UT as well as vice president of the research division of the American Society of Horticultural Sciences.

He said he was interested in running the UF/IFAS environmental horticulture department partially because of its faculty and national reputation. In addition, departmental participation in the newly formed plant science degree program will make a difference in training the next generation of horticulturalists, he said.

“One of the greatest strengths is the applied horticulture within the department,” Kopsell said. “Whole-plant horticultural physiology and plant improvement are two areas in high demand within industries, and faculty in the department are having big impacts in these areas, as well as environmental horticulture as a whole.”

Kopsell’s first goal as chair will be to visit environmental horticulture in the UF/IFAS research and education centers. Secondly, he wants to continue the strong relationships already established with the Florida green industry. Thirdly, he wants to get to know UF/IFAS and the university system.

“A good understanding of on-campus entities will help me serve the department and mentor younger faculty and staff,” Kopsell said.

His fourth goal will be to develop a new strategic plan for the department. For the future of the department, Kopsell emphasized how important it is to keep current with technology; stay relevant; reduce financial burdens as they relate to research, teaching and Extension; and attract and train the next generation of horticulturists.

Kopsell earned his bachelor’s degree in agribusiness from Illinois State University, and his master’s and doctoral degrees in horticulture from the University of Georgia.

Chicago – Master Nursery Garden Centers and IGC Show organizers announce Master Nursery will hold its summer board meeting, as well as its national member meeting, at the 2017 IGC Show this August. Master Nursery officials say they will not conduct a regional gathering at AmericanHort’s Cultivate in favor of the national member meeting alongside the IGC Show at Chicago’s Navy Pier.

“IGC Show Chicago was a tremendous success for us when we moved our Summer Board Meeting to Navy Pier two years ago,” Jeff Lafferty, CEO of Master Nursery Garden Centers, says. “Now, having both our Summer Board Meeting and our new National Member Meeting at the IGC Show will make accessing the breadth of the resources there that much more convenient for our membership.”

“Master Nursery’s membership of more than 550 independent garden centers is the perfect fit with the IGC Show, since independent garden center retail success is what we’re all about,” Jeff Morey, IGC Show founder and CEO, says. “We are thrilled to have the Master Nursery team select the IGC Show as the exclusive site for their National Member Meeting. It underscores our mission to make the show a central hub where the independent garden center industry comes together each and every year.”

IGC Show’s trade show, three morning keynotes and Opening Evening Party & Concert with Blue Öyster Cult are all free with registration at www.IGCChicago.com.